(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the storage of recording media, for example magnetic tape cassettes and/or discs, and particularly to facilitating the intentional retrieval and return to storage of such recording media while minimizing the unintended release from the stored position of such media. More specifically, this invention is directed to apparatus for storing recording media which is especially well-suited for installation in motor vehicles. Accordingly, the general objects of the present invention are to provide novel and improved methods and apparatus of such character.
(2) Description of the Prior Art
Apparatus for storing recording media, such as magnetic tape cassettes, "compact" discs, standard records or video discs, is known in the art. An example of such apparatus may be seen from my co-pending application Ser. No. 645,068 filed Aug. 28, 1984. Recording media storage apparatus typically has a housing, customarily characterized by a rectangular cross-section, and one or more recording media supporting transport sliders which are movable relative to the housing. A transport slider conveys the recording media from a storage position, in which it or they are enclosed within the housing, to a removal position in which the selected recording media can be lifted from the transport slider. The transport slider will be resiliently biased toward the ejected, i.e., the recording media removal, position. Means must, of course, be provided to lock the transport slider in the housing against the resilient bias until such time as it is desired to retrieve a recording medium stored in the apparatus. In the apparatus of above-referenced application Ser. No. 645,068, the locking arrangement comprises elements which positively engage one another so as to automatically lock the transport slider in the housing when it is pushed into the housing from its ejected position. The locking arrangement includes a coupling element which is displaceable relative to one of the members being locked, i.e., the housing or transport slider, and is supported in the direction of movement of the transport slider.
Continuing to discuss the apparatus of application Ser. No. 645,068, the locking of the transport slider in the housing results from the coupling element coming into a locking engagement both with the transport slider and the housing when the slider is fully inserted and then allowed to move forward a slight distance under the influence of the resilient bias. Apparatus of the type disclosed in the referenced co-pending application is often, because of its compactness and reliability, installed in motor vehicles. While the position of installation will be dictated by the construction of the vehicle, an effort is always made to select an installation position which facilitates operation. In most cases this results in an installation wherein the direction of movement of the transport slider in the opening direction is opposite to the forward direction of travel of the vehicle.
Continuing to discuss the recording media storage apparatus of application Ser. No. 645,068, in order to retrieve a recording medium from the apparatus, the inserted transport slider is pushed a short distance further into the housing. This results in the coupling element being unlatched whereupon the transport slider will move to the open position under the influence of the resilient bias. The storage apparatus, if installed in a motor vehicle, will be subjected to the same forces as the vehicle, its components and also its passengers. In the typical mode of mounting, as described above, rapid deceleration of the vehicle will result in the transport slider, which would customarily be supporting a load in the form of a recording medium, moving relative to the housing in the unlocking direction. Thus, as a result of the inertia of the transport slider, it may become unintentionally released during, for example, emergency braking of the vehicle in which the storage apparatus is installed. This same undesirable characteristic is shared by other types of locking mechanisms wherein release is effected by urging the transport slider into the housing. An example of such an other type of locking mechanism for the transport slider of a recording media storage apparatus may be seen from Published Federal Republic of Germany Application No. 25 21 371.
Locking systems for transport sliders of recording media storage apparatus which require movement of a release member in a direction transverse to the direction of motion of the transport slider in order to unlatch the transport slider are also known. An example of such a system may be seen from German Pat. No. 22 48 408. In the apparatus of the above-referenced German Patent a release member is molded to the transport slider. The transport slider is unlocked by lifting the release member upwardly in a direction which is approximately perpendicular to the direction of movement of the transport slider. The release member is connected to the floor of the transport slider by means of a leaf spring and, during the release operation, executes a pivoting movement.
The use of a release mechanism of the type shown in German Pat. No. 22 48 408 does not eliminate the possibility of unintentional release of the transport slider during rapid vehicle deceleration since the inertial forces to which it will be subjected result in a turning moment acting on the release member. The possibility of unlocking is increased by the fact that the inertial forces acting on the transport slider and the recording media housed therein reduce or eliminate the frictional connection between the locking extension of the release member and the cooperating catch in the housing.